Spaghetti Slashers

“Tenebrae is a sexist novel. Why do you despise women so much?” Perhaps the most self-reflective moment from Dario Argento’s entire career. Having constantly been accused of misogyny due to the excessive violence his films have often levelled at their female victims, Tenebrae was a chance for the Italian filmmaker to finally comment on the treatment of women in horror. This scene would come shortly after a graphic murder in which a promiscuous shoplifter (having offered sex in return for avoiding prosecution) is brutally stabbed and then pages of the novel shoved down her throat. Does fiction promote violence in society and are the likes of Argento to blame when one of their fans rapes or murders? “Women as victims?” continued the journalist who had accused Tenebrae of being sexist, “The male heroes with their hairy macho bullshit.” Whatever the critics thought of Tenebrae, Argento’s first giallo thriller since Profondo rosso (Deep Red) in 1975, the BBFC and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) certainly were not impressed, resulting in the movie being labeled as a ‘video nasty.’

After a successful run of four zombie movies, Lucio Fulci decided to turn his attention to a new genre and eventually settled on the American slasher film. Whilst the likes of Halloween and Friday the 13th had invaded the mainstream, there were still certain filmmakers such as Bronx native William Lustig (who had, coincidentally, cut his teeth as an assistant on Dario Argento’s Inferno) who dared to challenge and provoke audiences with an onslaught of graphic and disturbing imagery.

Whilst giallo had begun to dominate Italian cinema during the early seventies, another genre that had begun to attract attention was poliziesco, complex crime thrillers that, much like their more successful counterparts, had been inspired by the pulp novels of the thirties and forties.

As the sixties came to a close, it seemed that Mario Bava’s winning streak was coming to an end. Whilst the decade had begun with the hugely successful gothic chiller La maschera del demonio (aka Black Sunday), as the seventies drew closer he had produced one commercial failure after another.

It isn’t easy following in the footsteps of a legendary father, and no one knows that more than Lamberto Bava. Having spent his childhood immersed in the industry, it was perhaps inevitable that he would eventually turn to directing himself, although the shadow of Mario Bava would be cast over everything he attempted.

Whilst some giallo filmmakers are occasionally revered by critics for their stylish use of cinematography and almost operatic violence, one director who was met with constant cynicism, bewilderment and even hatred was Lucio Fulci. Considered by some to be a pioneer in exploitation, others often dismissed him as a talentless hack, plagiarising the success of more talented artists.